VAC Signature Preamplifier mkII

The only dedicated phono preamp I have owned is the Thor TA-3000, which enjoys a fine reputation, albeit company viability issues. As I do not listen to vinyl as much as digital, I have preferred very excellent full function preamps, with fine phono stages, like the VAC Sig mkII and the Accuphase 2410 with phono module.
The integrated phono section of the VAC is as good as the Thor TA 3000, and is actually more quiet (near silent)
I use an MC Transfiguration Orpheus at 0.3 mV with absolutely no problem with adequate amplification or noise.

Only RCA inputs standard for phono I'm afraid. However, Kevin will be happy to supply an XLR input, upon request at extra cost, if this is important to you....another example of VAC's willingness to work with their customers.

Can't go wrong if you're itching for a change.

Of course if you have a favorite dedicated phono preamp, you can feed it's outputs into one of two XLR line inputs on the VAC Sig II.

I should mention that the less costly Ren MKIII offers approx 90% of what you get with the Sig, including phono stage.....IMHO the best bang for the buck in preamps available...however the Sig mkII is one step better.

FWIW, I will say that I also enjoy the VAC sonic signature. I've owned/heard many great preamps including BAT VK-51SE, VK-32SE, ARC Ref 3, VAC Renasiance mk II, CJ Premier LS 16 mk II, and many, many others. I've also owned many great amps, Clayton M-100 monoblocks among them.

I still own a Basis 2500 Diamond Signature TT w/ Basis Vector 3 tonearm (with Basis Calibrator base and Dustcover) and ZYX UNIverse S-SB cartridge. I have however downsized my cabling and sold my seperates for an integrated amp (VAC Avatar Super w/ lots of NOS tubes).

While I do agree with Kurt_tank, that the VAC sonic signature is not as powerful in the bass region as some other manufacturers, like BAT, Krell, Clayton, etc, I do agree that from the mid-bass up, VAC is about as good as it gets. I think that Audiobrian has no problem with the bass while combining VAC with Clayton amps. I'm sure he has the best of both worlds, the finesse and air of the VAC with the power and punch of the Clayton's.

I would suggest to Audiobrian, that he could even improve his musical enjoyment with some better power cords. The Cardas Golden Reference are decent cords for their price range, but there are much better cords out there. My favorite are the Stealth Dream, which are much clearer and transparent than the Cardas, while still more musical than the Nordost Valhalla. Quality gear like you have Audiobrian, deserves better cords....you'll be surprised.

Cheers,
John

PS: BTW, I sold my ARC Ref 3 preamp and highly modified BAT VK-75SE amp, but I still have my Walker Signature phono stage. The VAC Avatar phono stage is MM, and I do have a SUT, but the Walker still beats the VAC phono stage by a significant margin. I suppose it should....since it's list price is higher than the whole VAC integrated amp's list price.

Phi 300.1 times two = not weak in bass department! :-)

Arthursmuck,

$18,000.00 times two = Not for me! ;-)

(I wish it were otherwise, but until those lottery balls line up in my direction, I will have to be happy with my Lamm M2.1s.)

If your looking for a preamp with built in phono, the new Janus Signature is amazing and at $10,000 it's a steal. This is coming from a guy who has had the VAC sig MKII, VTL 7.5 and others. The VTL did not have built in phono but the VAC did. The control that the Janus has is second to none.